Tangled Web: A Small Town Romance (The Cortell Brothers Book 6) by Giulia Lagomarsino (an ebook reader txt) 📕

“He was unconscious.”

“His eyes were staring at me!”

I shrugged. “I’m not saying that’s not freaky, but the fact is that he’s alive. And he’s also the one that killed Arlen.”

She stumbled back a step and plunked down on the couch. I sat down beside her, unsure if I should touch her right now. For all I knew, she would twist my arm off or something.

“I don’t understand. If he’s been alive all this time, where was he?”

“I guess he was just hanging around. But he’s sober now.”

She snorted. “Oh, well, isn’t that nice for him.”

“He killed Arlen.” Her eyes bulged in surprise, but she didn’t say anything. She just stared at me. “He found out what Arlen had done and he…Look, I’m not saying that you should forgive him or even go visit him, but I need you to know, he turned himself in because he didn’t want you going to jail.”

She shook her head slightly. “And that’s supposed to mean something after all these years?”

“I don’t know. That’s up for you to decide.”

She rubbed her hands over her face and sighed. “You know? I don’t care. I don’t care that he’s still alive or whether or not he killed Arlen. To me, he’s been dead for years, and I’d prefer it stay that way.”

I nodded. “You might feel different later on…”

“Really? You think I’m suddenly going to want a relationship with him? After he nearly beat me to death?”

“I didn’t say that. I’m just saying, whatever you decide, if in the future you want to see him, I’m here for you. And if you never want to see him again, that’s fine too.”

She sighed and stood, pacing in front of me. “So, what does this mean for me then? If he turned himself in, am I clear?”

I nodded. “Robert took your father in and made sure that all charges were dropped against you.”

“So, I won’t be labeled a killer anymore?”

“Not by the police,” I smirked. “But I reserve the right to still use that phrase at my own discretion.”

She blew out a breath and laughed. “I can’t believe it’s over. It’s finally over after all these years. I never thought I would be free of him.”

I wasn’t sure if she was talking about Arlen or her father. “There’s one more thing you should know.”

“What’s that?”

“I talked to Callum, and I asked to be the one to tell you…”

“What? Don’t leave me in suspense!”

“The lawyers are releasing the trust.”

Lorelei

We drove through the wreckage that used to be my hometown. It looked so much different since I left. Windows were boarded up and the homes were all in disrepair.

“I wish I could have gotten them money sooner.”

“Hey, you got them money. That’s more than anyone else was going to do.”

I knew he was right, but it still made me sad, to see all these lives destroyed and there was nothing any of us could do about it. The grass was long in almost every lawn and the sidewalks were cracked and barely visible with all the weeds growing up in them. It looked like a ghost town, but I knew that people were still here.

Callum and I had arranged for a food truck to arrive in town today, along with workers to start rebuilding the town. I had also secured a deal with a grocer from a bigger city. They were going to take over the old grocery store and turn it into a proper grocery store. It would take time, but I had food trucks lined up every week until the town was back up and running. I had done the same with the surrounding communities. True to my word, I took all of the trust that was left for me, and it was being put back into the towns. The mining company was currently in a legal battle with the federal government over their underhanded scheme to stop the mining of coal, and eventually lithium. I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get the company back up and running, but Arlen’s trust left me with enough money to fight that battle and get these people back on their feet.

As for Barty and Elena, I did end up giving them a small lump sum from the trust. After all, they were Arlen’s kids, and despite how terrible they were, I still felt bad about taking all of their inheritance. I tried to give some to Oscar, but he only accepted enough to get him through school. He said he wanted to make his own way in the world.

Andrew slowed in front of my old house, if you could call it that. The roof had caved in and the door was practically hanging off the hinges.

“I can’t believe he was living here the whole time,” I whispered.

“Makes you wonder if people actually saw him around town or if they were just playing into the rumors.”

We both stared at the decrepit house for another minute, but then movement caught my eye. It was Sandy, Matthew’s mom. She was still here. I was out of the car before I could think about it, rushing over to her. Matthew’s mom wrapped me up in her arms, tears falling down her face.

“You’re back.”

“I told you I would be someday.”

She held me at arms length as her eyes roamed over me. “Wow, you’ve grown into such a beautiful, young woman.”

I smiled and swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry about—“

“Oh, hush. You know Matthew wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

“I miss him so much,” I said, tears slipping down my cheeks. “I can never repay him for what he did for me.”

“Oh, honey, that boy loved you since the day he saw you run out of your house and scrape your knee. He used to tell me that he was going to marry you someday.”

“It never should have happened like that,” I sniffled. “His life was cut too short.”

“So were so many others. This town…so many people have died over the years.”

“Well,” I said,